Chapter 179 The Emerging Voices

Chapter 179: The Sound of Voices

The Everlasting Lamp wasn't far, so Su Bai led the Jin brothers deeper into the dense fog, moving even further from the central plaza and the exit of the mist-shrouded zone.

Su Bai didn’t know Xia Anan. The information about her in his mind wasn’t even enough to piece together a single puzzle piece, let alone the frame. His understanding of Xia Anan came entirely from Jin Zheng and Jin Yi’s descriptions, making his suspicions of her sound like unfounded assumptions—much like wild guesses made during a thriller movie. Ultimately, his doubts about Xia Anan stemmed from Jin Zheng and Jin Yi’s attitudes toward her.

No matter how the Jin brothers introduced Xia Anan as their teammate, no matter how loudly Jin Yi emphasized his trust in her, and no matter how he described her kindness and good-heartedness, their voices lacked conviction. Sometimes, speaking louder or using more assertive words doesn't convey greater confidence. In fact, it can sometimes be a sign that the speaker harbors doubts but refuses to admit them, using an elevated voice to mask their uncertainty.

The younger brother, Jin Yi, was likely a perfect example.

Jin Yi was quite taken with Xia Anan—so much so that he could be considered an admirer and pursuer. And it seemed Miss Xia Anan had given him some encouragement, which led Jin Yi to firmly believe that her departure was due to the player named Lei Ming forcing her to leave. He was convinced that even their missing items must have been stolen by Lei Ming, and that none of it had anything to do with Xia Anan.

But in his heart of hearts, Jin Yi must have sensed—or even confirmed—that something was amiss with Xia Anan. He simply didn't want to betray his feelings for her, which was why he always loudly refuted Su Bai’s speculations and vehemently tried to prove Xia Anan’s innocence.

Perhaps he wasn’t just trying to convince Su Bai; he was also trying to convince himself.

Using his knowledge of Fog City, Su Bai led the Jin brothers toward a specific direction—a street intersection that served as one of the points of the pentagram on the city map and was also the location of the Everlasting Lamp in the foggy area.

Although many players had entered Fog City, they constituted only a small fraction of the city's population. Thanks to Feng Zhe’s earlier widespread announcements, most players who saw his message after the asset liquidation had intentionally or unintentionally gravitated toward Fifth Street, where the Misty Shop was located. As a result, the number of players remaining in the foggy area who could maintain their senses had significantly decreased.

Even if other players were trapped in the foggy area, encountering them wouldn't be easy.

So, as Su Bai and the Jin brothers made their way, they didn’t come across a single player who could maintain clear awareness in the thick fog. Instead, they passed by Fog City residents who had already begun to mutate, and even ghosts that had broken free from their human shells.

In Su Bai’s eyes, the entire foggy area was a ruined city filled with grotesque humanoid puppets and ghosts. Enhanced by the thick fog, it was even more nightmarish than the Nightmare World itself.

Moreover, the ghosts that had broken free weren't just common spirits or minor specters. Occasionally, malicious ghosts attracted by the flashlight’s glow would emerge from the fog, their hostility directed toward humans. Although the Jin brothers were skilled, they could only rely on their hearing to detect the approach of these eerie entities in the fog.

Thus, most of the time, it was Su Bai who stepped in when they couldn't avoid confrontation. Qing Lan’s power allowed Su Bai to turn his limbs into weapons even without holding one, using his eyes to identify the weaknesses of the eerie entities and either repel or kill them outright.

“Are all the people in Fog City turning into these things?” Although Jin Zheng and Jin Yi were merely assisting from behind Su Bai, they could sense that some of the eerie entities they encountered were far more powerful than them.

If they hadn’t begged and pleaded for Su Bai to accompany them into the fog, they would have had to face the sudden appearance of ghosts in the nearly blinding fog on their own. With their abilities, they wouldn’t have lasted long. Forget dealing with the ghosts in the fog—without Su Bai leading the way, they would have been utterly lost and panicked the moment they entered the foggy area.

As a result, Su Bai now appeared both powerful and mysterious in the eyes of the Jin brothers.

Su Bai’s strength was something Jin Zheng and Jin Yi had keenly felt throughout their journey. This player, who appeared frail and had even been mistaken for a woman by Jin Zheng, possessed terrifying speed, strength, and combat skills. It almost made the two brothers suspect that this elegant-looking young man was a killer operating on the fringes of darkness in the real world.

However, Su Bai coldly dismissed their speculation.

As for Su Bai’s mystery…

Although Su Bai denied having the ability to pierce through the thick fog, he consistently led them confidently in a specific direction. While preventing them from turning off the flashlight that attracted ghosts, he could accurately predict the direction from which the ghosts would attack.

The Jin brothers knew that Su Bai’s denial might not be entirely truthful, but they found it hard to imagine what kind of incredible ability he possessed that allowed him to see through the terrifying fog while also having such formidable physical prowess. After all, players’ abilities came from the talents bestowed upon them by the Nightmare World, and each player could possess one and only one talent.

“The Fog City residents outside the fog are also transforming. One day, all the Fog City people we know will turn into that, right?” Jin Zheng’s expression was complex. Having lived in the city for three months, they had inevitably interacted with Fog City residents. It was hard to imagine the once-normal individuals they had conversed with turning into cracked clay puppets and terrifying eerie entities.

“That cynical administrator said something about Fog City people being fake humans. I don’t believe a word of…” Jin Yi’s words trailed off mid-sentence.

Although many players, influenced by the administrator’s wording, regarded Fog City residents as harmless NPCs, the Fog City residents “disguised” as eerie entities could indeed be considered fake humans.

“Turn off the flashlight,” Su Bai suddenly stopped in his tracks, for the first time asking the Jin brothers to turn off the flashlight they had kept on.

“What’s wrong?” The trust and even admiration they had developed along the way prompted the Jin brothers to immediately switch off the flashlight, plunging their surroundings into complete darkness.

“I heard people talking. You should be able to hear it too,” Su Bai lowered his voice, as if not wanting their voices or the flashlight’s glow to disturb the two people conversing not far away.

The voices belonged to a man and a woman, and they were growing closer and clearer.

“Xia Anan, are you trying to dump me now and run off alone? Just like you ditched those two idiots?” The man’s tone was filled with anger.